Victoria's England
The Queen Herself Queen Victoria was a virgin before she died. She had been kept secluded from other children restrained by a dominating mother and her conniving lover. When Diangeuaw made her the Blood Queen of England, she bonded with him deeply but remained sexually chaste and with deep personal morality that reflected outwards on her court and kingdom. She continues to rely upon Diangeuaw's mentorship to a degree. She was only 20 when she gave the Kiss with Diangeuaw's blessing to William Lamb, Lord Melbourne who serves as Prime Minister. Thier government supports the great aristocratic families, most of whom are now led by the Blood Elite. It support a strong parliment, free trade, religious emancipation and the Declaration of Human Rights. Victoria's Bygone Politics Victoria's own ties to the Fae Courts are limited; she tends to avoid dealing with them directly whenever possible and is more amiable towards feyblooded humans sent as diplomats and envoys than true fae. She distrusts the Bleid-ddyn monarchy of the Summerlands and considers them an "usurper nation", but she distrusts and fears Beli Mawr even more so despite Diangeuaw's assurances that the King of Cymru will not war upon her and is satisfied with the current borders. The People of 1990 England The citizens of England have a mixed bag of reverence and dread for their sovereign. The profits gained from the widespread trade with the otherworld accomplished many of the same benefits as the overseas British Empire of our paradigm. There is a very strong class system in human and other cultures, an educated middle class, continued economic/industrial evolution and consolidation guided by the vampiric aristocracy. The Bygone War had decimated the human population of England as badly as the Black Death had in the 1300s but by 1990 it has already trippled from where it stood in 1837. Most humans are middle or lower class: teachers, farmers, factory workers, shop-owners, either free citizens or sanguined. Sanguinity, except in the case of "enemies of the Crown" cannot be forced and must be legally contracted- forced blood slavery is an illegal act since British Parliment ratified the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Human Aristocracy Victora made an early edict that the aristocratic families could not make one of their own unless human heirs had been accounted for first, probably in leiu of her own young Making. These humans heirs are carefully raised and nutured, sanguined and given the Kiss when applicable, usually when their own children are of age. They often have positions of influence in their family, town or greater government. The counterculture movement It started in the 1960s was born from the Trafalgar Square Massacre of 1958. 25,000-50,000 peaceful protestors, mostly students and pacifists held an anti-monarchy, anti-vampirism demonstration, the largest the nation had ever seen since the Treaty of Souls. When they refused to break off, the police used tear gas and guns, arresting killing 10% of the activists and arresting another 10%-15% who were all charged with "treason against the crown" and sentenced to the Tower of London to become foodstock. The leadership that escaped was subsequently hunted down, some of them made into blood-dolls to give public testimony where they repudiated the Life Movement. The Trafalgar Square Massacre resulted in even more development of the countercultural radicalism that included veganism, the embracing of the fey and neo-paganism, widespread use of EoE and "fangbanging" in English cities. Victoria accused both the Constantines and Queen Elphame in supporting the dissidents. The borders were tightened and tensions between the nations has been extremely high in the last 30 years.